Modelling financial sustainability of clusters: The case of Hungary

In Hungary, like in other post-socialist countries, clustering started only around the turn of the millennium. However, the mostly top-down organised clusters seemed not to be viable because the basic requirements of long-term operation, such as financial support and sufficient number of members, were not fulfilled. Thus, the main aim of this paper is to establish such a cluster-model which is applicable for the examination of clusters’ opportunity to be self-supporting under different circumstances. By determining the criteria of the long-term financial sustainability of clusters, the model and its simulations can considerably support the work of cluster managers and the competitiveness of clusters.